The Marine Life-Inspired Artwork of Sam McDonald
Susan Brown | Eyes on Scotland
I am drawn to works of art that celebrate coastal and marine environments, and I’m eager to bring the focus to Scotland and the talented sculptor Sam MacDonald. He creates the most beautiful artworks that channel shafts of light, penetrating into fish pools and giving a unique sense of fluidity to the fish in each piece he crafts.
Originally from the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, Sam has family links to the Isle of Skye and the Orkney Islands but now lives with his family in East Lothian, a stone’s throw from Edinburgh. After studying silversmithing and metalworking in Camberwell, England, he lived on the Orkney Islands for 19 years. While on the islands, he began creating abstract artwork based on wrecked boats. Then he started fishing again, took up snorkeling, and learnt how to scuba dive—all of which gave him the idea to create a fish sculpture for his own home. He started making more sculptures for friends who saw his incredible creation and then eventual commercially for clients. Coupled with his fishing trips to Bahamas, Iceland, Venezuela and India, to name but a few, Sam started creating sculptures of game fish such as tarpon, permit and bonefish, as well as salmon. Many of these now hang in fishing lodges around the world.
In order to better understand his subjects, Sam continues to snorkel in smaller salmon and trout rivers in Scotland. He is fascinated by the beams of light that penetrate the water and illuminate aspects of the fish who seem to be oblivious to his presence. It is this regular interaction with the marine environment which has given Sam the insight to create such beautiful pieces by mixing resin and traditional metal working techniques, patination, and pewter, gold leaf, brass, and other metals.
The creative process takes about six months or so, as Sam likes to work on multiple projects at the same time. If you take a look at his Instagram account (@sammacdon) you can see projects at various stages of completion. He doesn’t just do commissions, he enjoys having the time to work on projects of his own which are quickly snapped up by galleries such as House of Bruar in Perthshire, Scotland and the Wykeham Gallery in Stockbridge, Hampshire, England.
Sam continues to travel the world fly fishing for research, and I’m sure a fair amount of fishing pleasure too! For those of you who enjoy fishing, or have friends and partners who do, I am sure you understand his outlook. These sculptures surely inspire both the fisher and non-fisher alike.
You can find more information about Sam on his website www.sam-mcdonald.co.uk.
